Saxon - The Inner Sanctum review
| Band: | Saxon |
| Album: | The Inner Sanctum |
| Style: | Heavy metal |
| Release date: | March 05, 2007 |
| A review by: | Jeff |
01. State Of Grace
02. Need For Speed
03. Let Me Feel Your Power
04. Red Star Falling
05. I've Got To Rock (To Stay Alive)
06. If I Was You
07. Going Nowhere Fast
08. Ashes To Ashes
09. Empire Rising
10. Atila The Hun
11. If I Was You [single version]
12. 747 (Strangers In The Night) [live] [Japanese bonus]
13. Back To The Wall [live] [Japanese bonus]
14. Stand Up And Be Counted [live] [Japanese bonus]
15. Never Surrender [live] [Japanese bonus]
16. Wheels Of Steel [live] [Japanese bonus]
17. And The Band Plays On [live] [Japanese bonus]
Approximately three years after the release of the really good "Lionheart", Saxon, the masters (with Iron Maiden of course) of the NWOBHM scene are finally back with a new album, "The Inner Sanctum". "Lionheart" was really good and maybe that it was probably a bit hard for the band to release again something in the same vein because if "The Inner Sanctum" is a good and pleasant album, this is definitely not so exceptional too. Yeah, the new Saxon is a bit conventional if you want my opinion.
Don't misunderstand me, "The Inner Sanctum" is not a bad album! We have some cool strong Heavy Metal songs like "Let Me Feel Your Power" or great ballads (really this one kick ass) like "Red Star Falling" but all in all, we don't have a lot of real exceptional hits and I'm not even sure that I found a real hit on this album (where is a song like "Crusader" or even "Lionheart"?). It's good and well done no doubt but not so special too. Plus, some songs like "I've Got To Rock (To Stay Alive)" sound more like some Hard Rock songs like some pure Heavy Metal ones and if it's not really surprising for Saxon it's not so convincing too, it's good one more time but not exceptional. I have to say that I cannot criticize the quality of the songs in general but I'm a bit disappointed, I was expecting something a lot better and outstanding.
"The Inner Sanctum" is a really well produced album with a really dark cover which describe really well the general atmosphere of the album. Because "The Inner Sanctum" is not so "happy", listen to "State Of Grace" and you'll be able to see that we're in front of a music which doesn't sound like on the majority of the classic Heavy Metal releases. The dark atmosphere of the album is cool however but it lacks a bit of punch too. On the other hand, the performance of the musicians is excellent and damn Biff is still an amazing charismatic singer. Years after years, his voice is still exceptional...
Without being bad, "The Inner Sanctum" is not really convincing. Maybe that I was expecting something too big after the release of "Lionheat" I don't know, but if "The Inner Sanctum" is not a bad album, I doubt that it will stay in our memories for ever. Let's hope that it was just an average album and that Saxon will be able to produce some great albums again in the future? I have no doubt about it anyway.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Jeff | 31.03.2007
Comments
Comments: 12
Visited by: 75 users
| EvillSpell Posts: 9  |
Well i really like the album, somehow it cought me, those old times, but overall, the album isn't so different, from the old ones. And i like the review 
---- If you love something, let it go... If it doesn't return, hunt it down and kill it!
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| Götter avatar of misery Elite Posts: 12300  |
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941  |
Noooooooo!!!! This album is FULL of hits  I gotta say I am way in love with this album and don't see much mediocrity in it. However I haven't heard Lionheart or most of the rest of their discography (I'm working on that!!) so maybe I'll change my mind in time. As of right now though this album is one of my favs of 2007
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| Charly546 Posts: 314 |
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| GT Coffee!! Staff Posts: 5101  |
Surpose the review will be easier to read tomorrow when the K7-virus is gone, so I'll return later EDIT: It was easier to read today. Nice review and eventhough I'm not the biggest fan of Saxon I might give this album a try
----  Dreams are made so we don't get bored when we sleep
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| SteTech Posts: 576  |
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254  |
haha yeh - I can read the review now after yesterday woo! haha.. yeh.. I kind of agree.. I prefered 'Lionheart' where some people might not.. this album doesnt have any 'stand out tracks' on it - it is all run-of-the-mill stuff (not saying that Saxon's run-of-the-mill isnt bad at all!) - but there just wasnt anything on here that made me stand up and take notice of it.. maybe my opinion will change in time though - maybe after seeing them live again but this time performing this stuff, I will start to love this album
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| Mariusz Account deleted |
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| junkyhead Posts: 1 |
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254 |
yes - I definitely like this album a lot lot more now I have listened to it a few times.. I probably do like this quite a bit more then 'Lionheart' now
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| okt31 Account deleted |
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| Music4TheSpirit MetalForTheSpiri Elite Posts: 4934  |
For me, this is without doubt a dissapointment. Yes you can argue that Lionheart was a strong album and it would be hard to do something better, but this is just not what you expect from a veteram band like Saxon, not matter what album they release before. Yes it's not bad if you compare it to, lets say, last couple of Maiden Albums, but here they seem like they were out of ideas, though everything is not wrong in it, a 7 is for me too high rate.
---- In this days we seem to be limited by scientific knowledge "I'm a good man... while that don't interfere with my interest" Anonymous , taken from the low moderm and post-moderm consciences
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